WHAT ROUGH BEAST

France, where I live, is currently caught up in an extraordinary political crisis: the Yellow Vests. Triggered by the announcement of a sales tax jump on diesel fuel for cars – billed as an ecological move but mainly to help out the budget --, a protest movement went super-viral on Facebook and Twitter, and quickly spilled into the streets. Wearing the yellow safety vests mandatory in French cars, the protesters began blocking roads, motorways, traffic circles and toll-gates; and, as French protests will, it all culminated in monster demos on the Champs Elysées in Paris. Uniquely, though, this movement has no structure and no leaders, and therefore no one the government can talk to. Moreover, its demands are as varied as its makeup: they quickly went beyond fuel prices to anything anyone feels mad about. Lower prices, lower taxes, higher minimum wage, ecology, all the way to the resignation of President Macron. And there is such a general disgust with “politics” that anyone in the movement who proposes actually talking to the government to negotiate something immediately receives death threats. Obviously, the parties of the extreme right and left who would love to co-opt the Yellow Vests are being told to get stuffed. It’s an extraordinary moment of universal rage (75-85% of the French support the movement, at least in the comfortable anonymity of opinion polls) that combines real anguish, especially economic, with nihilism; while the big demos are being briskly and gleefully taken over by the “Black Blocks” and other violent urban-warfare and pillage instigators.

I’ve written this long introduction to set the scene for what really strikes me in the whole affair: the complete silence of the Church and the churches. Christians have for years felt a little uncomfortable about St Paul’s exhortation to treat legitimate government as a gift from God. In Holland during WW II, as the German occupiers put the boot in, the Dutch sarcastically sang the German hymn’s adaptation of the Pauline text: Die Obrigkeit ist Gottes Gabe. And both the Dutch, fighting against Spanish King Philip II’s legitimate but tyrannical rule, and the French, creating their iconic revolution and beheading their elites, have proved that they are not slavishly obedient by nature. However, in a time when smartphones and social networks are threatening to destroy every sort of social cohesion and sending the rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem, there should be no ambiguity at all about a Christian reaction to a nihilist tsunami.

Christ made it clear that his kingship was not “of this world”, and that the radical life he proposed considered social and political change not as a goal but at most as a natural result. He left social and political structures intact, telling his followers to pay Caesar’s taxes and, if they owned slaves, to be good masters. The conversion he envisaged would change individuals, and thus make certain kinds of behavior unthinkable. Meanwhile, almost any form of social structure can be made to work decently if the human beings operating it are filled with the love of God.

This said, though, Churchill was right in saying that democracy was the worst possible form of government with the exception of all the others. In creating modern democratic society, the Enlightenment has played as great a part as Christianity, and the rational safeguards democratic institutions present against wickedness (and sometimes even against stupidity) represent a treasure not lightly to be put at risk. In no way are they perfect: among today’s great challenges are the equitable incorporation of ecological change, the curbing of financial mega-greed, the encouragement of citizen initiatives and volunteer projects, and the management of communication. But in all these areas the Church and the churches ought to be leaders: not by making themselves into yet more NGOs but by insisting on the position of each individual in relation to God. Can you, John X Doe, look the Meshiach who died for love of you in the face and behave as you are behaving, speak as you are speaking and tweet as you are tweeting? He loves you and needs you to help fix this gravely ill dot in the galaxy. He is standing at your door and knocking: are you making too much noise, or reading too many texts, to notice? Or care?  

PENTECOST FROM FRANCE

In a column in the French daily Le Figaro Matthieu Rougé, professor at Notre Dame (Paris) and rector of St-Ferdinand-des-Ternes, discusses the meaning of Whitsun/Pentecost, in the context of a new and influential book by the philosopher Jean-Luc Marion. I have made one change throughout the article: he writes of “Catholics” but in France this usually means “Christians” as opposed not to Protestants but to atheists. So I have used “Christians” instead. 

PENTECOST: BE NOT AFRAID OF CHRISTIANS

What is the state of mind of Christians in France, this Pentecost? Some think of them as discouraged, weakened, disunited. However, at the end of an election year in which Christians have been both singularly denigrated and courted, the great philosopher Jean-Luc Marion has published a Brief Apologia for a Catholic Moment. A specialist in the works of Descartes and Heidegger (the fathers, one might say, of our modernity and our postmodernity respectively), Marion at the French Academy has the chair of Cardinal Lustiger. On August 5^th of this year it will be ten years since the “Jewish Cardinal” (as Maurice Druon acclaimed him at his almost-state funeral in Notre Dame) passed on. There will be celebrations and conferences to mark this anniversary in the coming autumn. Like his illustrious and charismatic predecessor, Jean-Luc Marion refuses the suggestion, and the temptation, of a Christian withdrawal.

Christians should not harden their hearts but help the people of our time go beyond “clichés and slogans: as if Christians were divided into potential unbelievers (good) and identity-hugging fundamentalists (bad), into uncertain humanists (acceptable) and enthusiasts for an alternative society (intolerable!).” In fact “they have a rock-hard belief that it is better to give than to receive . . .; that death can lead to life in fullness. They believe it because they already see it in their own experience and especially because they have seen it, in a certain sense, in the person of Christ.”

That which allows Christians to bear this witness is the gift of the Holy Spirit, celebrated on the feast of Pentecost. The spirit of their current life is less important than its Spirit! Like the Apostles of the first days, today’s disciples have received a Spirit of gentleness and strength, of creativity and unity, of lucidity and hope.

They are not torn between an imperative of goodwill toward all and the vigour of their spiritual and ethical convictions; between the legitimate variety of their choices (especially political) and the unity of their community; between a healthy severity vis-à-vis the ills of our age and a profound optimism concerning the direction of history. While such tensions are very real, the Holy Spirit allows them to conquer them by going deeper: the Spirit of God joins with the human spirit to lead it into a way of truth, of life, and of peace. That is the meaning of Pentecost.

It is more a matter of a force of the Spirit than a state of Spirit. For the Holy Spirit allows the Christian faith to hold to the memory of its roots without enclosing itself in a static conservatism. It is the source of a dynamic that allows us ceaselessly to reinvent – in the original sense of rediscovering – the Gospel logic of the love of truth and the truth of love.

Our country needs to get back the taste for, and the means of, serious and serene discussions, while at the same time rehabilitating the search for truth. We need at once to welcome and respect great diversities and clearly to acknowledge that which makes our unity. We must take care of both our memory and our capacity for invention; open ourselves up to vast new horizons without denying who we are. These paradoxical necessities many consider irreconcileable, but Christians know that they can accept their demanding unity. They know this, not as a source of superiority but rather as a grace and a responsibility.

But if Christians, inspired in the strongest sene of the word, are thus to contribute to the peace and the vitality of our polis, it is necessary that they should not be constantly denigrated. With John Paul II’s famous “Be not afraid!” in mind, Jean-Luc Marion remarks, “One has the impression that nowadays  it’s the French Christians who need to repeat these words to certain non-Christian Frenchmen who fear a return of clericalism.” Our age should not be afraid of Christians: their love of truth constantly in search of further depth, their ethical rigour, their link to the universal, can be salutary for our society.

As for France’s Christians themselves, sometimes “intimidated by their very existence,” they urgently need more intensely to live the Spirit of Pentecost, by strengthening their spiritual, intellectual and charitable commitments. That is the price, and a ridiculously reasonable one, of the hope to which they are to bear witness. Quoting Chateaubriant, the author of The Genius of Christianity in the wake of which he is working, Jean-Luc Marion praises “that Christian hope, the wings of which grow even as everything seems to betray it, a hope longer than time and stronger than misfortune.”   

FOR PRESIDENTS AND SMALLER FRY

 

At the inauguration of President Macron of France, it seems appropriate to think briefly of those who labour and travail in what we call "politics". Somebody asked Macron how he could hope to run a country if, as he had admitted at one point, he doesn't love himself. An idiot question, to which, as is his wont, he gave an intelligent and perceptive answer. One shouldn't confuse, he said, self-love and self-esteem. Without self-esteem, self-respect, one can do no great thing. Self-love, though, is a form of narcissism and -- I forget his exact words, but his point was that it prevents one from serving.  

Clearly he is not a devout man: his answer, which is a very good one, ignores the love for oneself which the Christian receives through, and because of, being loved by God. Who am I to refuse to love the one whom God loves and for whom his son died? And how can I love my neighbour as myself unless I love myself?

 On the other hand, seeing the inauguration reminded me of the burden that political service, and political authority in whatever degree, place upon those who undertake them. And as such, they need our prayers. At the time of the French election, the admirable little daily prayer-book Prions en Eglise printed a prayer for politicians, composed by Fr Laurent Stalla-Bourdillon, the chaplain to the members of the French parliament (he cannot, of course, in France, be Chaplain to the Parliament because the Republic is secular). I found it interesting, and translate it here. 

 "I thank thee, O Lord, for all them that labour in politics. Through the intercession of Saint Thomas More, I commend to thee most especially our leaders, their families and those who work with them. Deliver them from the daily pressures of media and lobbies, of money and public opinion. May they do thy will with the help of thy Holy Spirit, in their function, their decisions and their commitments, doubting neither themselves nor the gifts thou hast given them. May they attend to the care of all thy Creation, conducting affairs with discernment of truth and justice, respecting all persons as well as the common good. May thy love allow them to love others as themselves; and lastly, may they know thee at their side, and with thee go forward in faith and in courage. Amen."  

 Such a prayer, were we to incorporate it in our regular prayers, may help to defend us from cynicism, bitterness and hardness of heart when it comes to those we elect and appoint to manage our affairs.

FIDDLING ON THE TITANIC OR SINGING ON THE ARK?

I have been reading the admirable French daily La Croix’s decennial survey of the state of the French Catholic church and its presumed development over the next ten years. It is dire, of course: the number of baptisms is falling, the number of committed lay persons is falling, the number of those calling themselves Catholic is falling, and the number of vocations is plunging.

The suggested remedies are many, various, energetic and coming from all over. They include foreign priests, more work by the laity, reorganising dioceses, etcetera. And yet there is a vast and dense silence on a number of possibilities that instantly suggest themselves to a non-Roman-Catholic.

In the first place, married priests. Admittedly, that would prove complicated in terms of salaries, pensions, and adaptability to movement. But it would instantly augment the number of vocations, and in the face of 450 years of Anglican experience it is impossible to maintain that married men make less good parish clergy. To do the Pope justice, he did recently tell a bishop from Amazonia that the church would not exclude the consecration of viri probati, “proven” married men. But only in such extreme cases.

Secondly, women priests. This would double the pool of vocations if not triple it. And again, as the Anglicans are discovering, women make excellent priests.

Thirdly, a conservative redefinition of celibacy. Conservative in the sense of going back to medieval practice. Celibacy should mean not living in the context of a marriage and a family, and thus being available on a permanent basis. It should not mean giving up all sexual relations for the rest of one’s life. That is a great deal to ask of young males: and such a demand may be fine when there are many – in ages where priesthood confers status, education, and security --, but it should be completely reconsidered when the flood of vocations is reduced to a trickle.

Fourthly, the possibility of couples, straight or gay, both serving as priests, perhaps in the same parish or neighbouring parishes.  

Pope Francis memorably said, a year or so ago, that it would be wonderful if the Church could stop thinking about sex all the time. Notice that all the solutions I’ve mentioned as not being discussed or (publicly) envisaged have to do with sex.

As for the dwindling of the laity, I have long suspected that it had something to do with the Church’s (no: the churches’) relentless “updating” and “modernizing” of their habitus. And I notice that all the suggested remedies in the La Croix issue go in the same direction.

If each diocese decided to have a number of churches where a traditional liturgy was used – and not only at 8 a.m. -- , these might stop the drifting away, or the not turning up, of those whose faith is best served by a liturgy of reverence, of formal beauty, and of some distance. At the moment, such believers are faced with the choice of either post-Vatican II liturgical chumminess or Lefebvrist theological archaism. An unfair choice, that I’m sure alienates a larger number of the faithful than the Church realizes.

Finally, a number of French dioceses are moving in the direction of laymen getting together for church services without a priest. I have attended one or two of those, and they are embarrassing in their lack of direction and form. Once again, if there were more contact between French Catholics and Anglicans, the latter could suggest a translated version (which exists already) of their Prayer-Book Matins and Evensong services (minus the prayers for the Royal Family), which would meet the case admirably. This would also mean going back to an earlier conception of Communion, or Mass, as an occasional, say monthly, liturgical high point; something the Reformation instituted but has been moving away from.

In a time when the seas are rising, Christians should reflect on the nature and course of the ship they are manning. Are we bound for an iceberg or for Ararat?

"HAPPY AS A TEACHER IN CANADA"

This is an article from a French daily newspaper, which on the paper's website is available only to subscribers. As I thought it of interest to my Canadian friends (who are, of course, all bilingual), I decided to put it here, at least until they tell me to yank it or die. From my memories of living in Canada, Canadians rarely realize other nations' admiration or envy of them. 
With thanks to Le Figaro (France)

Les élèves de la Lawrence Heights Middle School, qui appartient au réseau des «écoles modèles» accueillant un public défavorisé dans la banlieue de Toronto.

REPORTAGE - Les enseignants canadiens ne comptent pas leurs heures et chouchoutent leurs élèves. Mais ils sont mieux payés qu'en France.

Envoyée spéciale à Toronto et Montréal
Alors que la crispation sur la réforme des rythmes scolaires est à son comble en France où une partie des enseignants s'enfonce dans la sinistrose, rien de tel au Canada. Pour Catherine (*), professeur à la Lawrence Heights Middle School, un collège de la banlieue défavorisée de Toronto, il est «naturel», ce semestre, de donner vingt-huit heures de cours par semaine, sans compter une dizaine d'heures d'activités parascolaires bénévoles. Concrètement, elle reste dans l'école de 9 h 15 à 18 heures, cinq jours par semaine.
Pour couronner le tout, cette enseignante est «bivalente», comme une partie de ses collègues. Elle enseigne les mathématiques et le «langage», tandis qu'Aldwin, un autre professeur, enseigne indifféremment la musique et les arts plastiques. Pour Catherine, «travailler au-delà de ses heures de cours, jongler d'une matière à l'autre, ça fait partie du job». Dans un autre établissement, à Montréal, Julie passe indistinctement du cours magistral de mathématiques au cours d'informatique et à celui de robotique. Les enseignants sont embauchés localement par les «conseils scolaires» où siègent des représentants des parents. Si on demande à chaque enseignant de collège et lycée d'être «spécialisé» dans une discipline, il aura le plus souvent à faire classe dans deux matières.
Bien que confrontés à des enfants parfois difficiles, les enseignants de la Lawrence Heights Middle School se disent satisfaits de leur sort. «En Ontario, tout le monde veut devenir professeur», expliquent-ils. Chaque conseil scolaire détermine le salaire des enseignants, après négociation avec le syndicat local. Le nombre d'années d'études et l'expérience sont pris en compte. En Ontario, l'échelle des salaires oscille de 2300 € à 4300 € par mois, des montants de 50% supérieurs à ceux d'un professeur français.
«Lorsqu'on a un bon diplôme, on peut commencer aux alentours de 45.000 à 50.000 dollars et finir à 100.000 dollars», détaille Nikki MacDonald, 24 ans, étudiante en sciences de l'éducation à l'université de Toronto. La jeune femme cherche un emploi de professeur à l'étranger, en Biélorussie ou au Koweït, car le nombre d'étudiants canadiens souhaitant devenir professeur excède le nombre de places. Certes, la démographie canadienne est en berne. Mais les gouvernements provinciaux n'ont pas besoin de ces campagnes publicitaires à la française qui fleurissent actuellement pour attirer des recrues…

Grâce à son statut d'«école modèle», la Lawrence Heights Middle School, reçoit un budget 15 % supérieur à celui d'un collège standard.

Animation parascolaire

Les professeurs canadiens s'engagent à développer des activités «parascolaires»: aide aux devoirs en petits groupes, club de badminton, de football, club théâtre, d'échecs, de «débat», activité vidéo, programme «de leadership», atelier de bandes dessinées, voire club «gay friendly» ou féministe. Ces activités sont organisées lors de la pause de midi ou après les cours, à partir de 15 h 30. «C'est une source de motivation. Cela nous permet de connaître parfaitement nos élèves, à la fois dans le contexte scolaire, disciplinaire. Mais aussi dans une ambiance plus ludique», explique Catherine.
Contrairement aux États-Unis où les enseignants sont rémunérés lorsqu'ils organisent ce type d'activités, ces dernières sont considérées comme «volontaires» même si une pression implicite existe bel et bien au sein des établissements pour que les enseignants participent. «Cela fait partie de notre tradition même si certains rechignent», explique l'un d'entre eux. Les professeurs effectuent au moins une activité extrascolaire pendant l'année. Toutefois, beaucoup se concentrent sur un semestre. Et certains refusent d'en faire… Les enseignants des provinces de l'Ontario et de la Colombie-Britannique ne sont pas rémunérés alors que dans le Manitoba, ils peuvent recevoir un jour ou deux en échange de leurs heures supplémentaires.
Convivialité, ouverture, simplicité, cordialité sont les mots qui reviennent le plus souvent pour qualifier les relations entre professeurs et élèves: «Il y a beaucoup d'amitié et un grand respect des uns envers les autres», «Le prof n'est pas le suprême boss qui détient tous les pouvoirs, c'est plutôt quelqu'un avec qui on discute. C'est l'idéal pour apprendre et avoir envie de travailler»… L'école canadienne s'avère être un «vrai lieu d'échanges, un monde à part entière avec sa cohérence sociale», selon une enquête du programme international d'échanges scolaires (PIE).
En ce début d'année, ces deux enseignantes de la Lawrence Heights Middle School n'ont pas hésité à participer à l'organisation de la «fête des lumières». Lors d'un cérémonial multiculturel qui méduserait une partie des enseignants français, les élèves défilent fièrement sur la scène de la salle de sport polyvalente, vêtus des costumes traditionnels de leur pays d'origine: Afrique de l'Est, Inde, Pakistan, Chine, Caraïbes. En arrière-fond, des vidéos évoquent de façon positive les fêtes religieuses du monde, passant sous silence les différences spirituelles et historiques. Le tout sous les applaudissements enthousiastes du personnel et des élèves, souvent fraîchement immigrés. Le principal, David deBelle, explique vouloir instaurer un «esprit d'adhésion et d'amour de l'école». Ce type d'activités parascolaires assure la qualité des rapports au sein de la communauté éducative, affirme-t-il. Le fait d'inculquer aux enfants les vertus du multiculturalisme limite aussi, selon lui, l'échec scolaire.
Il serait facile de balayer d'un revers de main l'ambiance «Bisounours» de ce collège qui appartient aux 150 «écoles modèles» de l'agglomération. Ce réseau a été créé en 2006 pour pallier le manque d'assiduité scolaire des enfants et leurs faibles résultats. Implanté au sein d'une banlieue peuplée de travailleurs pauvres, le collège reçoit ainsi un budget de 15 % supérieur à celui d'un établissement normal, selon Manon Gardner, la responsable académique. Les élèves qui souffrent de problèmes d'audition et dentaires se voient proposer des soins gratuits. Un petit déjeuner et un déjeuner sont systématiquement offerts. Et les enfants sont limités à 25 par classe. «Il y a quatre ans, nous comptions 75 exclusions d'élèves par an. Nous n'en comptons plus que 5», affirme-t-elle.

Des activités scolaires sont proposées systématiquement après les cours.

Un bon moyen d'intégration

Le fait que les élèves soient «chouchoutés» contribue à cette réussite. Régulièrement, un professeur «mentor» les interroge sur leur forme, leur bien-être, l'avancée de leur travail. La mise en valeur de chaque collégien est constante. Le long des murs de l'établissement Pierre-Dupuis de Montréal, des panneaux avec photos promeuvent l'attitude «positive» de Zénab, l'assiduité et ponctualité de Stéphanie, les «efforts et progrès» de Gabriel. En cinq ans, ce collège a réussi à redresser la barre à force d'innovation. Si plus de 80 % des élèves décrochaient avant la fin de leurs études, ils ne sont plus que 52 % aujourd'hui. «C'était une école violente. Elle est devenue une école calme à force d'attention et de personnel supplémentaires», souligne Danielle Roberge, la directrice. Le quartier ouvrier du centre sud de Montréal où est implanté l'établissement cumule pourtant les difficultés: monoparentalité, faibles revenus des parents. «Souvent, ces derniers n'ont pas réussi et leur image de l'école est mauvaise», poursuit-elle.
Comme à l'«école modèle» de Toronto, des activités scolaires sont proposées systématiquement après les cours «parce qu'ici ils sont mieux qu'à la maison», souligne la directrice. À chaque pause, l'école diffuse Les Quatre Saisons de Vivaldi et les élèves portent le même tee-shirt bleu marine. «C'est plus simple, on n'a pas à choisir ses vêtements le matin et tout le monde est au même niveau», affirme Melissa, 14 ans, fille d'un père algérien et d'une mère salvadorienne, grande amatrice de football féminin.
Revers de la médaille, si quelques milliers d'«écoles modèles» bénéficient de moyens supplémentaires à travers le pays, ce n'est pas le cas de toutes. À Toronto, les représentants des parents dénoncent régulièrement l'état délabré de tel ou tel établissement. Nombre d'activités «parascolaires» déléguées à des associations sont payantes à Montréal, et parfois très onéreuses, toujours au grand dam des parents, qui s'en plaignent dans la presse.
Au Québec, près de la moitié des enseignants sont touchés par une forme de précarité en raison de leur nombre pléthorique. Enfin, en Ontario, une partie des professeurs en grève depuis janvier n'assurent plus leurs «activités parascolaires» pour protester contre un changement législatif…
Les conclusions de l'enquête internationale Pisa qui analyse les résultats des élèves de quinze ans en langue et mathématiques sont cependant toujours à l'avantage du Canada. Le pays figure dans le peloton de tête, après la Corée, la Finlande, Shanghaï, Hongkong et Singapour. En interne, certains s'inquiètent parfois d'une pédagogie jugée trop laxiste. Mais ce pays reste l'un de ceux où les différences d'origine sociale ont le moins d'impact sur les résultats scolaires. Le Canada et ses enseignants savent bien mieux intégrer leurs immigrés que la France par le biais de l'école… Peut-être parce qu'aucun sujet n'y est tabou. Dès le plus jeune âge, l'origine des élèves en difficulté (populations minoritaires, enfants d'immigrés…) est identifiée. Et des prises en charge transversales, tant scolaires que psychologiques ou médicales sont proposées.